Cambuslang train station is to be a high priority in the council’s transport plans after public feedback forced a U-turn.

Earlier this year South Lanarkshire Council revealed its plans for the park and ride facilities throughout the area.

Rutherglen and Newton were listed as high-priority stations but Cambuslang was not, prompting anger from the community council.

However, the volume of responses the council received has led it to reconsider.

The proposals will see a new car park at Bridge Street, creating 152 new spaces.

David Thomson of Cambuslang Community Council told the Reformer the plans are a step in the right direction.

He said: “We are delighted that South Lanarkshire Council have agreed to make a new park and ride car park on Bridge Street a high priority.

“We were very unhappy that the original document proposed to make a new car park only a medium priority, which could mean any new provision would be a decade or more away.

“The council’s own analysis showed that Cambuslang currently has the poorest park and ride provision in South Lanarkshire and their original proposals would have meant Cambuslang receiving the lowest level of investment in the area.

“We are pleased that the council have listened to the community.

“We felt that any regeneration strategy for the town centre needs to free up space in existing car parks for shoppers, which means making extra provision for commuters.

“Bridge Street is the only brownfield site close to the station that is feasible for a park and ride and we now look forward to hearing how the investment is to be taken forward.”

The council papers detail the reaction to the Cambuslang proposals, stating: “Many of the comments received were in relation to Cambuslang Sta- tion and these were in a similar form due to Cambuslang community council’s active participation in the consultation process. A small number of comments also related to Newton Station.

“The concerns related to the timing of an initial survey undertaken on a Friday afternoon, the future demands from ongoing and future developments and the overall priority given to potential options at Cambuslang Station.

“Since the draft PRS was published a detailed study has been undertaken to provide understanding of current issues. This replicates the approach taken at Hairmyres, Lanark and East Kilbride Stations.

“Concerns were raised by residents through the consultation in relation to the demand methodology used to calculate future passenger demand. The numbers provided in the strategy have, however, been discussed with Network Rail and Scotrail Abellio and are considered robust. In view of the more robust data collected, the finalised PRS has been updated to reflect the outcomes of the detailed study.

“As a consequence the priority for Cambuslang park and ride has been moved from medium to high priority.”

Plans for Rutherglen will see the current car parking area reconfigured to create a handful of extra spaces in the short term before a long-term project will create a new car park in the area.

Newton will see an extension to the current car park, creating a further 134 spaces.

Gordon Mackay, the council’s head of roads and transportation tervices, said: “A consultation exercise was undertaken earlier this year on the development of the council’s park and ride strategy.

“In view of the responses received and further data collected around passenger demand the finalised strategy has been updated.

“As a consequence the priority for Cambuslang park and ride has been moved from medium to high priority. This demonstrates the very genuine nature of this consultation, with strong local views being recognised and reflected in the final strategy document.”